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June 25, 2008

Carbon Monoxide Kills 1, Poisons 13 in Separate Incidents

by Sam Savage

By Ben Winslow and Aaron Falk Deseret News

A man died and 13 other people were poisoned by carbon monoxide in separate incidents Tuesday in Ogden and Glen Canyon.

Around 2:45 a.m., eight members of an Arizona family staying on a house boat in Rock Creek Bay on Lake Powell became ill and sent out a distress call, according to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area officials.

The 62-year-old man who first noticed the problem and began rousing members of his extended family suffered a heart attack and died during the evacuation. Seven people were flown by helicopter to a Page hospital; six have since been transported for treatment in a hyperbaric chamber in St. George.

Also Tuesday, six people were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning at an Ogden home.

Ogden firefighters were called to a home near 1000 East and 125 South at about 2:15 a.m.

"The man who called said everybody was fainting," said deputy Ogden Fire Chief Chad Tucker. "The dispatcher was able to keep him talking, find out what was going on and get everybody out of the house."

Once police and firefighters arrived, they found dangerously high readings of carbon monoxide and a family that was very ill.

"In the home, we had upwards of 1,000 parts per million," Tucker said Tuesday, noting that anything over 100 is considered potentially lethal.

Six members of the family, ranging in age from 18 months to 44 years old, were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital to be treated for symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning. Their condition is unknown.

Firefighters traced the source of the CO poisoning to a furnace and water heater that weren't properly vented.

"It came through the furnace in an enclosed area with the central air circulating all that," Tucker said. "There were no CO detectors in the house. It was able to build and get worse before anybody noticed it."

Last year, the Ogden City Council passed an ordinance requiring all homes to have carbon monoxide detectors. In 2006, a man died and three Ogden police officers were poisoned when they responded to an apartment.

The city offers CO detectors for a reduced rate. Anyone seeking more information can call the Ogden Fire Department at 801-629- 8074.